Post: #1

Note: This is likely my last big post on the forum for the summer - although this one is short. I will likely stop cruising the forum this weekend. I will still be active on Twitter (2Wycked16) so you can follow me there. I would give you my email, but I never check it.



The Twilight Zone is one of my favorite shows. It was created by Rod Serling. It is cerebral, perceptive & well-written. Unlike the hot garbage of today's TV shows, it was & is the intellectual counterweight to vapidity in TV media.

One of my favorite episodes - second to the whimsical episode "The Hunt" - is the episode "Walking Distance." You can watch the episode online here. Well-written, excellent acting & a beautiful score really bring this tale together. It is about a 36 year-old executive named Martin Sloan. Burnt out from the rat-race of corporate and seeks to return to the idyllic world of his childhood.

One day, while driving in the country, disgruntled & frustrated, his car breaks down and while stopping to have it fixed, he wanders to the local town & finds out it very much like his hometown. In fact, he discovers he has time-traveled to his past in his hometown.

Martin wanders around in a state of child-like wonder, revisiting his past with eyes wide-open. The people of his past regard him with suspicion. He cannot connect with his former self as a child and his parents refuse to believe his story that he is their child from the future. He comes across as insane.



The climax is when Martin confronts his former self on a carousel ride. He pursues his former self so badly that he falls off the ride, permanently disabling his leg. Martin immediately notices he has limp now, too. His father confronts him, telling him it is inappropriate to bother his former self. It is his summer, his life. You had your chance to enjoy your childhood, now let him. He suggests that nostalgia isn't what he needs - he needs to focus on his future & search for happiness in the present.

The episode ends with a beautiful soliloquy by Rod Serling:

Quote:Martin Sloan, age thirty-six, vice-president in charge of media. Successful in most things but not in the one effort that all men try at some time in their lives—trying to go home again. And also like all men perhaps there'll be an occasion, maybe a summer night sometime, when he'll look up from what he's doing and listen to the distant music of a calliope, and hear the voices and the laughter of the people and places of his past. And perhaps across his mind there'll flit a little errant wish, that a man might not have to become old, never outgrow the parks and the merry-go-rounds of his youth. And he'll smile then too because he'll know it is just an errant wish, some wisp of memory not too important really, some laughing ghosts that cross a man's mind, that are a part of the Twilight Zone.

When rewatching the episode, the episode has a kind-of dreamlike, off-kilter feel to it, like Kanye's song "I Wonder." It is extremely personal & might be one of the most honest episodes Serling wrote. Two themes present themselves: The soul-crushing pressure of the modern workplace & the nostalgia for youth lost.

The modern workplace is even more fraught with pressure than the 1950's. Longer hours, less pay & more bullshit sliding down from corporate heads. More senseless government intervention that results in people having to do mindless, soul-crushing work to slake the thirst of some bureaucratic drone.

For men, the pressures of the sexual marketplace, student loans & politically correct society do nothing to alleviate the pressure of modern society. Problems of self-delusion, obsession with video games & drug abuse make sense on some level. Not healthy, but are ways of coping with the untoward demands of society. Coupled with poor socialization of boys that leads them to be simps, men are lonelier than ever.

Which feeds into nostalgia. Like Martin, some men think that if they could just return to their youth or the past historically. The problem with that is the past is just that - the past. It belongs to someone else. Martin's dogged insistence on getting attention in the past speaks to his loneliness & disillusionment with the present. His father recognizes this and advises him to search out for happiness in his life - it is out there if you so wish to pursue it.

Nostalgia, here, is a form of not dealing with your problems in life head-on. We all get it from time to time, but the healthiest thing to do is cherish your memories while actively seeking to better your reality. Martin, here, has to learn a very tough lesson, as he crippled himself before he came to terms with this lesson.



In a way, it is selfish & narcissistic. Unable to comprehend, at first, that this particular summer he is idolizing isn't his reality anymore, it takes actively hurting someone - who is himself in the past - before he realized his error.

Disillusionment with reality is nothing new. However, what defines you is how you deal with it. Do you take it head-on and actively make your life better? Or do you sink into depression, medicating yourself with drugs & pornography? Like in American Beauty, the character of Lester was partially upset at himself because he was such a huge pussy for most of his life. He wasn't a man, but a person who got life dictated to him, by his job, by his wife & even his daughter.

While I can only speculate as to Martin's home life, it is clear he feels put upon by his professional life. However, he learns that is up to him to make his life better & not pine away for a past that is long gone.

Which is the point of the episode. You may have treasured memories in your past, but you have to treat them as such - history. I have serious blue-pill friends in my life, but I have distanced myself from them because I am bettering myself & their naivete and immaturity doesn't rub me the right way.

It is sad as you never want to see friends leave, but sometimes it is necessary. That is a part of life which Martin exemplifies. Learning that he has to make changes in his life so he can enjoy life, he leaves a better man. His wistful smile at the shows that he realizes his nostalgia is just an errant wish, a laughing ghost that reminds him he has had good memories in his life. The smile also shows he understand that his past is in the past. It doesn't do him any good to pine away for that - healthy men actively seek to better their lives in the present.

Post: #2

Great to see this written about! "The Twilight Zone" might be ancient but it's a show that really hasn't aged much thematically. A lot of episodes have serious Red Pill lessons. There are rarely happy endings. In fact, the show was set up to give you unpleasant twists at the end.

"Walking Distance" was the second episode aired and one of the best episodes they ever did.

But there is another one that should be mandatory viewing for anyone here. It's called "A Stop at Willoughby." You can watch it for free in three parts. Don't read ahead as to what it's about -- just watch it cold.

Part 1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ha0QL-dgqVQ

Part 2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvm3QH_SfsY

Part 3:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBQwIV6ovWk

Post: #3

@DoBA: That is also a great episode.

I thought about doing a writeup on that episode - have to put it in the queue now.

Post: #4

Excellent post, and a good break from the recent manosphere trend of intellectually masturbating over the past.

VK also wrote an excellent piece in relation to the topic of nostalgia.

http://nexxtlevelup.com/game/forget-your-fake-nostalgia

Post: #5

(06-21-2013 05:48 PM)DjembaDjemba Wrote:  Excellent post, and a good break from the recent manosphere trend of intellectually masturbating over the past.

VK also wrote an excellent piece in relation to the topic of nostalgia.

http://nexxtlevelup.com/game/forget-your-fake-nostalgia

Except that statistically speaking the past does, in fact, look better for men. Nostalgia is only nostalgia when it's reminiscing for its own sake, not when there is a real reason for it. Few men here want to go back to the 1990s, for example, even though there was some cool music, etc. But the '70s does seem like a good period.

Anyway, the following thread that links to a Zero Hedge article gives some examples. It's called "32 Facts That Show How Men Are Being Systematically Emasculated In America Today."

/thread-25072.html

Post: #6

We don't live in it.

We can't replicate the past for good or bad.

It's like trying to recreate the high you've got the first time you tried a recreational drug.

Post: #7

Another excellent post by 2Wycked.

Post: #8

You're quitting the forum entirely or just taking a break?

Post: #9

@Samseau: Temporary leave until I finish studying this summer. Be back in early August.

Post: #10

Later bro.

Post: #11

Great analysis 2Wycked, I watched the episode and then read your post.

(06-21-2013 05:03 PM)2Wycked Wrote:  Nostalgia, here, is a form of not dealing with your problems in life head-on. We all get it from time to time, but the healthiest thing to do is cherish your memories while actively seeking to better your reality. Martin, here, has to learn a very tough lesson, as he crippled himself before he came to terms with this lesson.

This is brilliant. As I was watching this episode I was thinking how I wish I could go back to about 8 years old and relive my life and make up for all the mistakes between then and now. But if I did do that I would likely have an entirely different life unrecognizable from the one I have now maybe better in someways but missing great experiences because my past is what got me to where and who I am today.

I see The Twilight Zone is on Netflix, anyone have more episode recommendations?

Post: #12

(06-21-2013 05:03 PM)2Wycked Wrote:  Disillusionment with reality is nothing new. However, what defines you is how you deal with it. Do you take it head-on and actively make your life better? Or do you sink into depression, medicating yourself with drugs & pornography? Like in American Beauty, the character of Lester was partially upset at himself because he was such a huge pussy for most of his life. He wasn't a man, but a person who got life dictated to him, by his job, by his wife & even his daughter.

While I can only speculate as to Martin's home life, it is clear he feels put upon by his professional life. However, he learns that is up to him to make his life better & not pine away for a past that is long gone.

Which is the point of the episode. You may have treasured memories in your past, but you have to treat them as such - history. I have serious blue-pill friends in my life, but I have distanced myself from them because I am bettering myself & their naivete and immaturity doesn't rub me the right way.

It is sad as you never want to see friends leave, but sometimes it is necessary. That is a part of life which Martin exemplifies. Learning that he has to make changes in his life so he can enjoy life, he leaves a better man. His wistful smile at the shows that he realizes his nostalgia is just an errant wish, a laughing ghost that reminds him he has had good memories in his life. The smile also shows he understand that his past is in the past. It doesn't do him any good to pine away for that - healthy men actively seek to better their lives in the present.

Beyond All Seas

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.
To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes
frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Kipling

Post: #13

Lord knows that I love the Twilight Zone and I have seen roughly 2/3rds of all of the episodes, but it's kinda sad when watching it to realize how jaded, and perhaps desensitized, our society has truly become.

Not only are the episodes not shocking to me, whatsoever, but the ones I haven't seen, I'm generally able to figure out the twist and/or message/ etc. about 5 minutes in. Talking to my parents, they said that the twists and even the subject-matter itself was mind-blowing when the show first came on, and nowadays it would be one of the million "supernatural" shows out there.

You still have gems like the one explained above that has a subject-matter that would be over the heads of much of today's audience, but still, I feel that so much of the show's mystique is lost on our jaded generation.

Post: #14

Anyone who enjoyed "Walking Distance" or "The Twilight Zone" in general should check out the TV episode Sterling considered his best. It's called "They're Tearing Down Tim Riley's Bar" and it was originally broadcast as part of a 1970s series called "Night Gallery."

It's on Hulu, but I'm not going to post a link because I despise how Hulu chokes you with endless commercials. But you can Google it if you really want to see it.

Post: #15

This post is an old favorite of mine.

Short and sweet.

It definitely needs a rewrite, though.

Let me know if there are specific TZ episodes you want to see me write about.

Post: #16

I personally love the Twilight Zone. Lots of red pill ideas in that show. It'd be cool if we could do an internet chat sometime on TZ.

Post: #17

(02-14-2016 02:04 PM)2Wycked Wrote:  This post is an old favorite of mine.

Short and sweet.

It definitely needs a rewrite, though.

Let me know if there are specific TZ episodes you want to see me write about.

I can't seem to find the name of the episode I'm thinking of, but it's about an over the hill woman who was a famous actress in her youth. She obsessively watches her old movies and reminisces about her glory days. By the end of the episode she gets sucked into the TV screen or something.

Post: #18

(02-15-2016 11:50 AM)Red_Pillage Wrote:  

(02-14-2016 02:04 PM)2Wycked Wrote:  This post is an old favorite of mine.

Short and sweet.

It definitely needs a rewrite, though.

Let me know if there are specific TZ episodes you want to see me write about.

I can't seem to find the name of the episode I'm thinking of, but it's about an over the hill woman who was a famous actress in her youth. She obsessively watches her old movies and reminisces about her glory days. By the end of the episode she gets sucked into the TV screen or something.